Having watched all the Bond movies, especially the ones with Sean (the one and only) Connery, I'd have to say that as far as Bond movies go, this one is a non-Bond. While I understand the need to change things up a little and freshen the franchise, there are some things you just don't mess with.
Broken bonds include:
1. Gadgets – there aren't any – it's completely Q-less
2. Car – pedestrian
3. Puns – one weak one (blink and you'll miss it)
4. Martinis – I'm shaken, but not stirred
5. Girls – one without a cool name, one just passing through
6. Evil plot – watered down yet dry as the desert
7. Villain – wouldn't scare a fly – just a typical avaricious businessman with friends in high places
8. Cool suave secret agent - gone
This latest addition to the 007 collection has much in common with "The Bourne Identity" and "The Transporter" and is acceptable as a fast-paced, car-chasing, action movie with its rough and buff hero, but it just isn't Bond – period.
Daniel Craig stoically plays the role of a vengeful man, and to his credit, he handles the action scenes very well. Mathieu Amalric is a suitably slimy power-hungry despot, but is not really impressive as a villain (through no fault of his own). Olga Kurylenko adds eye candy, but never bonds with Bond, and Judi Dench, as usual, plays a perfect M.
Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):
1. Brooding Bond's singing the blues over Vesper Lynd (you'll need to see Casino Royale to know why)
2. He uses his License to Kill until it gets as thin as M's "we are not amused" lips
3. He soon discovers where Greene Planet is getting its green from
4. Bad guys from "Quantum" find no solace at the opera when Bond displays his skills at Tosca interruptus
5. M tries to take him down through Strawberry Fields, but unfortunately Strawberry Fields may not always be forever
6. Bond finds a girl with similar motives, but no attraction or magnetism
7. Explosive action follows
8. Bond seeks closure from (1) above
To quote M at the end of the movie, "Bond, I need you back"
My sentiments exactly
Amanda Richards, November 29, 2008
